The Falling Boy

by David Almond

The Falling Boy. He could be anyone. He could be you. From the bestselling, award-winning author of Skellig comes a heartfelt, unforgettable story perfect for readers of Michael Morpurgo and The Final Year.

Nothing is the same for Joff this summer. His dad is ill, his mam is working, there's a new kid in town. He can't wait to escape each day and explore with his dog Jet.


But there's one place he's not allowed to explore. Above the town sits the Chapel of Doom, ancient and crumbling, with its warning signs and the legend of the Falling Boy.


And when Joff's adventures take him beyond the boundaries he discovers something unexpected, something truly magical ...

Intense and compelling, this is a brilliant coming-of-age story about hope, friendship and conquering your fears, from the award-winning author of the bestselling Skellig. David Almond is a 'master storyteller' Independent

Genres: Family, Childrens

211 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 12, 2024

About the author

David Almond is a British children's writer who has penned several novels, each one to critical acclaim. He was born and raised in Felling and Newcastle in post-industrial North East England and educated at the University of East Anglia. When he was young, he found his love of writing when some short stories of his were published in a local magazine. He started out as an author of adult fiction before finding his niche writing literature for young adults.

His first children's novel, Skellig (1998), set in Newcastle, won the Whitbread Children's Novel of the Year Award and also the Carnegie Medal. His subsequent novels are: Kit's Wilderness (1999), Heaven Eyes (2000), Secret Heart (2001), The Fire Eaters (2003) and Clay (2005). His first play aimed at adolescents, Wild Girl, Wild Boy, toured in 2001 and was published in 2002.

His works are highly philosophical and thus appeal to children and adults alike. Recurring themes throughout include the complex relationships between apparent opposites (such as life and death, reality and fiction, past and future); forms of education; growing up and adapting to change; the nature of 'the self'. He has been greatly influenced by the works of the English Romantic poet William Blake.

He is an author often suggested on National Curriculum reading lists in the United Kingdom and has attracted the attention of academics who specialise in the study of children's literature.

Almond currently lives with his family in Northumberland, England.

Awards: Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing (2010).

Reviews

[Stephen the Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joff Johnson is at a turning point in his life- the transition from primary to secondary school and the summer awaits. However, Joff's dad has cancer and Joff is struggling to make sense of the world around him.

David Almond has created a beautifully moving tale about love, friendship and finding your place in a time when all feels hopelessly confusing.
Joff finds solace like many his community in the local Dene and town but there is one place children are told not to visit -an abandoned place of worship known as the Chapel of Doom which is associated with the legend of The Falling Boy - a child who fell to his detain the church.

As he escapes the pressure and fears of home, he ventures out on journeys with his dog, Jet. Inspired by the book The Travels of Marco Polo, Joff kept his own journal .

It is on his 'travels' Joff encounters Dawn Chorus- a young girl who has an other worldly /ethereal aura about her- a friendship begins that leads to Joff's heightened senses and awareness of the world about him. Celebrating life, the acceptance of difference and the creation of beauty takes Joff to new pathways of seeing his world- elation, anger and happiness leading to an incredibly moving ending with the children of the community coming together. Dawn's story could be a future book- she is a fascinating character.

David Almond's writing is powerful and tender- the scenes where Joff and his parents talk about his father's cancer and treatment are very moving and Joff's emotions are palpable- but this is not a book about sadness but joy. This is a story that is for 10-14 year olds but also could be enjoyed by adults as its content should make us all reflect upon what is important- love and friendship.


Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette/Hodder for my ARC. I have given an honest unbiased review in exchange

[Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinary
Beautiful
A Skellig for 2025
Ethereal

My words are not enough to describe this book, heaven sent from David Almond. Shades of Skellig abound in an otherworldly tale of Joff, his dog, family and friends.

Joff is 11, he's just left Primary school and it's the sumner holidays before he moves to Secondary school. The end of childhood and innocence, perhaps.

Joff is also in emotional pain, he's trying to do his best but Dad has cancer and Mum is busy caring and trying, to make what little money they have stretch to feed and clothe a growing boy.
Joff spends his time with his oldest mate, Kenny and a girl from the hills far away
,Dawn.

This is their summer , the last before life changes forever-a time when Extraordinary things happen.

it's wonderful. Read it

[Sri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A feel good book, from my son's collection. loved it.

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another lovely book by David Almond. It’s not as mysterious and wonderful as Skellig but it has its own beauty and magic as young Joff copes with his father’s cancer treatments.

[Avyukt Sriram · Rating 4 out of 5]

in the beginning, it is hard to get in to but when you are starting the end it's fun

[Nic · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s the summer before Joff Johnson starts secondary school. His dad’s receiving treatment for cancer and the weather is scorching. Restless and searching for something, Joff battles his feelings and finds ways to express himself through friendships old and new.

Joff and his friends can’t ignore the lure of the Chapel of Doom just like generations of other kids before them. The chapel walls form a palimpsest, a testament to all of the kids who’d ignored the ‘Keep Out’ signs and dared to be there before.

Elsewhere, inspired and encouraged to explore, Joff retreads familiar ground and pushes himself further, able to explore his feelings through memories intrinsically linked to the landscape. He also starts to write as catharsis and self-expression.

I adored this book. It spoke to my soul!
I loved the connection between people and place; the affectionate tribute to community & the power of the arts to find and strengthen connections. Full of magical realism/ spiritualism as seen in Almond’s other work- imagination, wonder and reality blur to make anything seem possible.

[Katherine Dobkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not quite sure what it is about David Almonds work which moves me to tears. But here I am again wiping them away.
The falling boy is beautiful and moving. It has echoes of Skellig of course - a boy dealing with something and a strange and unusual new girl who helps him see things through a different lens.
As a (grown up) child whose father is dealing with the same sort of cancer some of the conversations between Joff and his parents took my breath away. Almond writes so tenderly.
I loved the way that the children came together and created beauty. This book is joyful and wonderful.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me the privilege to read an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Sophie Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this. I’m a huge fan of David Almod’s writing and this was just beautiful again. I was completely immersed in Joff’s life from the beginning and could not stop reading. Such a beautiful exploration of friendship, new beginnings and dealing with parental illness and the emotions that come with that. The message of love and community really shone through and I loved how everyone rallied behind Joff and his family and supported them through their difficult time. The ending was glorious and I could imagine the chapel of Light so vividly. A wonderful story.

[The Reading Jackdaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through tears and smiles, my heart beats joyously as I finish another masterpiece in gentle, powerful and engaging storytelling by David Almond. In The Falling Boy he writes about family, friendship, community, emotions and hope with such understated intensity, so lyrically, with such feeling that I am yet again blown away.

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely coming of age story about Joff, set in the summer before he heads off to secondary school. His father is seriously ill but putting a brave face on things, his mum is busy with work, so Joff heads out each day with his dog and sometimes a few friends. A moving and gentle story about growing up, friendship and community.

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almond's Nuts #30
Average yarn from Almond never really grabbed me, and was not one of his books that I really got into. He is still an interesting author and worth pursuing but this one was one of the lesser works, in my opinion.

[Ron · Rating 2 out of 5]

A children's adventure story, about a boy, his dog and a girl called Dawn.
The boy is working through his emotions, his father has cancer. There is a tale about a fallen boy at an abandoned site.
Suits readers 10 years and above.

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A coming of age tale, full of hope and fear, told in Almond’s inimitable way.

[Julia Edgar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking & beautiful & bittersweet

[PippaR · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few hours of joy, that is what a new David Almond novel means to me. I don't care that his themes and his plots are often recycled. It gives you the feeling that you are reentering his unique narrative world. The Falling Boy delves into the deep and sparkling mine of Almond's backcatalogue. There is an abandoned building (like in Skellig) and a strange, free and imaginative new friend (like Mina). There are journeys into dangerous places where the young shouldn't tread (like Kit's Wilderness) and echoes of classical artists and myths (like Ella Grey). There is sickness to deal with - Joff's dad has cancer - which gives the plot the same distinctive arc as Skellig. There is a lot of wandering around town in melancholy solitude, like in the Colour of the Sun. It is a book about young people discovering ways to express themselves, ways that allow them to break out of the norms of school and break free of the social pressures of friends and bullies. It is a book full of colour and art culminating in scenes of simple euphoria as the children's artistic project begins to envelope the lost and ancient places that they want to repossess.

In the hands of a bad film makers, The Falling Boy could be a terribly cheesy movie. Told in David Almond's voice, it is an incredibly moving story. In particular the dialogues between father and son are beautiful. He draws on his own experiences and that shows in conversations between Joff and his dad. It always amazes me that he teases so much emotion out of so few words. He has made very few misteps and this latest books sees him playing to his strengths and coming up trumps with a thoroughly convincing and heartfelt tale. It slots effortlessly into the wider Almond mythology that he has built up, a world of colour, creativity, fresh friendships, emotion, joy and sadness, hope and discovery. I feel I would only need a David Almond book to pick me up out of a bad mood. The Falling Boy had me smiling from beginning to end.

[Mary Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Almonds’ moving tale of friendship, family and finding your place in the world stands far above the rest. The writing immediately transports us into Joffs’ life; feeling our way alongside him through the searing hot summer; through the fears about his fathers’ illness; through his rapidly changing world. His wanders into the village, the surrounding fields and hills, and especially to the forbidden Chapel of Doom provide distraction, peace and the comfort of the known. And the appearance of Dawn Chorus provides an injection of the unusual, the extraordinary. This new resident to the town brings with her an unbridled curiosity that shakes Joffs’ perspective and understanding of his ordinary life. In fact, from the butcher to the bullies and wasters, she shakes up a lot of people in the town, joining them together, inspiring them to create and to believe in unusual ways, to be unafraid in their creativity.
Filled with palpable emotion, this is not a tale of sadness. It is a story of hope, of community, of incredible possibility. Full of emotion and simply extraordinary. And it is beautiful.